After Revealing Pregnancy at Work: "Leave"... 40% of Office Workers Say They Cannot Take Parental Leave

Workplace Gapjil 119 Receives and Investigates Reports of Unfair Practices
Pressure to Submit Resignation Letter Under the Guise of Recommendation

"When I informed the company about my pregnancy, I was told that they would process my resignation as a recommendation and asked to submit a resignation letter. The company continued to pressure me, saying that even if I resisted, they could fire me anyway. In the end, I signed the resignation letter prepared by the company." (Office worker A)

The civic group Workplace Gapjil 119 revealed such cases of unfair treatment related to childbirth and childcare on June 1. The organization stated that, over the past year, it had received 58 email consultations and reports related to 'childbirth and childcare gapjil.' A survey also found that 4 out of 10 office workers believe they cannot freely take parental leave.

According to a survey of 1,000 office workers conducted by Workplace Gapjil 119 through the polling agency Global Research from February 10 to 17, more than 4 out of 10 respondents (42.4%) answered "No" to the question of whether they could freely use parental leave. For the question about freely using maternity leave, 63.4% answered "Yes," while 36.6% answered "No."

By employment type, non-regular workers found it more difficult to use parental and maternity leave than regular workers. Among non-regular workers, 52.3% responded that parental leave was not freely available, and 46.5% said the same about maternity leave. Both figures were more than 15% higher than those for regular workers.

The organization also shared a related case. B, a contract-based public servant, said, "After returning from parental leave, unlike my colleagues who signed two-year renewal contracts, I was only given a one-year contract." B added, "Moreover, my team leader spread rumors that I received much more money than regular public servants by exaggerating the salary I received during parental leave."

Kim Saeok, an activist at Workplace Gapjil 119, stated, "There is still a need to consider and address the structural issues that prevent these systems from fully reaching the workplace." Kim emphasized, "The newly formed government should design and implement integrated policies from the perspectives of workplace democratization and gender equality."